Baby gate assemblies have been in widespread use worldwide for many years. However, the prior baby gate assemblies may suffer from various disadvantages such as the inability to distinguish automatically between an infant who must not be allowed to pass through the gate and an adult; the inability of ‘hands-free’ operation; or a requirement for a technician or skilled operative to fix the gate in position bridging a passageway, especially as passageways can differ in width, which can be not only time consuming and costly but prevent the baby gate being readily moved by the family from place to place in the home.